It’s off again. Oh, I don’t mean “off”. I mean OFF. This time I’ve taken the thing apart, unhooked themain cord, and made it impossible to turn on. Unless of course you know where the cord is hiding, and how to reattach it. Which I do.

But it’s off. Waiting for the next “emergency” to happen. Some world-wide catastrophe that weAmericans have learned to accept as “must” viewing. Some “spiritual” program that “all” the Christians “must” see. Some educational selection that my daughter’s teacher “demands.” Some news item, like the election returns, that Dad just HAS to watch.

I’m older now, and not as violently opposed to distractions as before. They call it “mellowing” in the world.

The Bible talks about “falling away.” (Have I gotten your attention yet?)

I well remember a TV that I triumphantly marched out to the garbage dump. TV in one hand, hand-axein the other. I bashed in the front of that thing to be sure I wouldn’t change my mind.

Those were good days. “Phinehas” days, for those who understand. Some of you still live in that violenceagainst sin. Did I say sin? But I’m ahead of myself, and I hear American shouts of “liberty!” rising in the background. Is it only my imagination that the only churchmen who have no “liberty” are those who expose flesh for what it is? Is not liberty to be contained in such a way that it gives no occasion to the flesh?

Is your TV contained in this way? Or by the grace of God have you long ago rid yourself of this pest?Sure, sure, yours cost SO much, “and to just pitch it is SUCH a waste. And if we give it away to someone weaker than ourselves, or an unbeliever, we’ll do them such harm.” Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all: inside my own heart, daily.

How do we get into these traps? We listen to our culture, then to our own lusts. Sometimes we even try to talk the Lord into it... “Lord, you know there’s so much GOOD on TV. Like those nature programs [most of which loudly promote evolutionary concepts!], and the news [which announces the daily litany of murders and rapes to us right before we sleep! And then we wonder why we dream like we do, even blaming it on the Lord sometimes: God told me...] and of course Christian programming [like evangelicals praising the Pope, and the latest music sensations selling their mega-buck albums] ...”

Even though I say all that, I know there’s some “good” there. But who has the power to wade through all the commercials, previews, and lies, to get to that “good” and remain untouched?

Mixed in with the good is the poisonous, as in every offering of Satan.

The call to liberty is important, and I want to inject it here again. No one can “tell” you to dump TV. But the evidence is mounting that TV is one of life’s worst complications. One could even call it an “idol” for many believers.

What do you mean, my TV is an idol! Well, idols replace the true God, in time and in emotion spent.

What do we do when we’re sad? TV cheers me up. Afraid? TV distracts me. Happy? I use TV to celebrate! What do we look forward to? That special sports event. Where do we spend our time? A football game is longer than two church services! A 2-3 hour basketball or baseball game occupies more of your time than (perhaps) a whole week of personal Bible study and prayer!

Where does our TV sit? In the very center of one of our finest rooms? Plus in the very center of all our bedrooms? Plus in the very center of ??? So that everyone can see? And where is our Bible sitting? And Christian tracts? And Christian books and music? When people come to our houses, they know immediately that we are plugged in to the world. Would they guess we are plugged in to Jesus, or do we have to tell them?

We should have known the potential evil of the little box when we heard it, and the newspapers, and radio etc, referred to as the “media”. Media is the plural of “medium,” and Bible students shouldn’t have to be told that a medium is a go-between spanning the gap from Satan’s Kingdom to earth. A demonic but human messenger with words from hell .

Why did all these communications vehicles become known as the “media”? Obviously, someone is trying to get a message to us. The method he uses, among the others, is TV. Now we know that on the other end of this message-giving process we will definitely not find the Lord , for the media were not created for Him. God speaks to us by His Son, His Word, His true Church, His Spirit, etc. Long before the “media”, God was doing quite well, thank you, getting the Word out. And He can do it today in this mad technological era.